Curtis Barton of Chelmsford says even with good retirement planning, the economy has been tough on seniors on a fixed income. SUN/BOB WHITAKER

This is the second profile in an occasional series on the economy and the 2012 U.S. presidential campaign.

CHELMSFORD -- It's not where he was four years ago that's on Curtis Barton's mind, but where he'll be four years -- or even just a few months -- from now.

The first time Barton, 65, answers the question, "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?' he says "no," citing an unfavorable combination of low interest rates and higher food and energy prices.

Asked again, though, the retired industrial engineer and Army veteran concedes. He's more financially stable now, thanks to careful planning, but he fears that won't be the case for long.

"My 401(k) and IRA are worth more than they were in 2007," said Barton, seated at the dining room table in his North Chelmsford home. "That's not unique, but it's not common. I prepped for it, I understood what was going to happen, and to a certain extent, I was lucky. But what's going to happen in the future is, that's going to go away."

Born in Missouri, Barton grew up in Colorado where his father was stationed at the end of World War II. He got his bachelor's degree in math at the University of Arkansas, a master's degree in systems management from the University of Southern California, and a second master's in operations research from Northeastern University. In the Army, he was stationed in Vietnam, Korea, Germany and Iceland, where his unit was on guard against a potential Soviet invasion.

He moved to Chelmsford from Framingham in 1987, a year after getting married.

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Barton and his wife, Elaine, have lived in the same house since then --"the longest I've ever stayed in one place, by far," he said.

But, he said, it's an expensive place to live. Assessed by the town at more than $300,000, Barton's house is worth about $100,000 more than what he paid for it 35 years ago. He's seen his utility bills rise, too, except for natural gas, which he uses for heating and air conditioning.

One of the reasons Barton said he likes living in Massachusetts is the option to "get lost from here. Even from downtown Boston, you can be in the middle of nowhere in an hour or two."

Barton said he and his wife haven't cut down on necessary car trips because of high gas prices, but they think twice now before going on longer drives that would take them to the middle of nowhere.

Barton said he and his wife are comfortable but "not as well off as we should have been."

"We should have been better able to prep for what's going to happen in our 70s and 80s," he said. "Let's face it, you have to plan for this stuff. Nobody else is going to do it for you."

Ever-increasing energy and food prices worry Barton. He said he planned his investments carefully, expecting low-interest rates to keep him from earning much on his savings.

He retired from Raytheon about five years ago and receives that pension along with one from the Army and Social Security. His Raytheon pension gets no cost-of-living adjustment, so he fears a point where inflation eats away much of his income.

A big concern for Barton is that the government will institute a national sales tax to combat the deficit, effectively raising the prices of consumer goods across the board.

"That hits everybody, especially the poor and especially the people on fixed incomes," he said.

A member of the Chelmsford Town Republican Committee, Barton makes no secret of his political leanings. The signs on his lawn support the GOP candidates for U.S. Congress, U.S. Senate and state Senate.

While he calls President Barack Obama "clueless on the economy," Barton said he's done well financially under commanders-in-chief from either party, particularly Republican Ronald Reagan and Democrat Bill Clinton.

"Some of those years were wonderful years," he said. "We haven't had 'wonderful' in years. It shouldn't be that way. It really shouldn't. It hurts everybody my age. Everybody."

Barton said he agrees with much of Obama's foreign-policy decisions, but will make his decision at the polls based on economic factors.

"He thinks that trillion-dollar deficits are cool," he said of Obama. "I think that trillion-dollar deficits are going to kill you, kill the kids."

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